The family of the 16-year-old girl, who was gangraped and murdered in West Bengal, met the president, Pranab Mukherjee, demanding stringent punishment for the guilty.

The family members met the president at Rashtrapati Bhavan along with women leaders, including the CPI-M politburo member, Brinda Karat.

The victim’s father told reporters after the meeting “I cannot settle for anything less than death penalty.”

Karat said it was a time to support the grieving family members, whom the West Bengal government had failed to help. The victim, who was gangraped twice in October had died on December 31, following burn injuries. Her family claims that she was burnt alive by the culprits.

The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) general secretary, Jagmati Sangwan, said: “We made a demand for CBI inquiry and the president himself was very much concerned. He assured that he was recommending a thorough investigation to the Home Ministry.

Accountability has to be fixed and the action has to be taken.”

The father of the girl said “We have been denied justice by the West Bengal government and the state administration, which did not take immediate action against the perpetrators of the crime.” He added: “Later, the same miscreants, some of whom are known to be close to the ruling party in the state, abducted and burnt her alive, as punishment for having dared to lodge a complaint against them.”

He alleged that initially police tried to cover up the case, saying it was an outcome of a quarrel between landlord and tenant but finally two persons named in the FIR were arrested.